US: Shipt names Kamau Witherspoon as Chief Executive Officer
Nationwide same-day delivery and last mile industry company Shipt announced that Kamau Witherspoon will join the company as its new CEO, effective March 1, 2022. He and Shipt's current CEO Kelly Caruso will work closely together in the coming months during the transition period.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: Nourish + Bloom Market partners with UST to launch the 1st hybrid autonomous grocery store with robotic delivery
Nourish + Bloom Market, the 1st African American owned autonomous grocery store in the world, has partnered with UST, a leading digital transformation solutions company, to launch their 1st frictionless grocery store in the United States. UST has provided an end-to-end solution and project management services for implementing a Hybrid Frictionless Check-Out Store, enabling Nourish + Bloom Market to drive their store operations at ease in the long run.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: New Chicory survey: Convenience, not COVID, driving online grocery orders
Chicory, the leading contextual commerce advertising platform, released findings from its 3rd annual Online Grocery Usership survey. The results of the survey include a year-over-year analysis of online grocery usership, as well as insight into add-to-cart frequency, user demographics, cart composition, preferred retailers and more.
Source: prnewswire.com
Canada: Alimentation Couche-Tard to upsize current share repurchase programme
Canadian convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. has received approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange to amend its current share repurchase programme. The move allows the group to increase the maximum number of Class A Multiple Voting Shares that may be repurchased to 46,806,328, representing 5.8% of the corporation's public float as on 19 April 2021.
Source: esmmagazine.com
US: FastAF partners with Uber Eats to launch 25 minute delivery
FastAF Technologies, Inc. (FastAF), the curated quick commerce retailer with thoughtfully selected products and brands that help people live better, announced that it has teamed up with Uber Eats to launch 25 minute delivery in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Source: prnewswire.com
US: Jokr in talks to sell New York operations
Instant-delivery startup Jokr has initiated talks to sell its New York operations, which make up the bulk of its U.S. business, after encountering heavy losses in the city, said 3 people with direct knowledge of the matter. Jokr has reached out to several rivals, including Philadelphia-based Gopuff, Istanbul-based Getir and California-based FastAF, to discuss a potential sale, the people said. If finalized, a sale of Jokr’s New York operations would mark a rapid retreat from a global expansion plan begun just last year, when the startup launched in more than 10 cities across Latin America, Europe and the U.S.
Source: theinformation.com
Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods traffic trends show two-pronged strategy
Amazon’s brick-and-mortar supermarket chains, Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market, are settling into distinct market niches amid improved foot traffic and decreased cross-shopping between the 2 banners, according to an analysis by Placer.ai.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: Good Eggs expands to L.A.
Online marketplace Good Eggs is cracking into the Los Angeles marketplace. The “purpose-driven" producer-oriented purveyor offers a curated assortment of organic groceries, fresh produce, everyday staples, prepared foods and meal kits.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
Roland Palmer now also in charge of Alibaba Belgium
Roland Palmer, who was promoted to general manager of Alibaba for the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the Nordic countries, now also takes charge of the Belgian branch.
Source: retaildetail.eu
UK: Asda given ‘no choice’ but to face strike action if pay offer rejected, GMB warns
Asda has been warned by trade union GMB that it will have “no choice” but to move forward with a formal strike ballot if its distribution workers reject the grocers revised pay offer made by the Issa brothers. The union began a ballot of nearly 8,000 Asda workers over a new pay deal from the Big 4 grocer.
Source: grocerygazette.co.uk
Auchan would have 'a lot more to gain' from Carrefour merger: Barclays
Auchan would have a lot more to gain from a potential tie-up with Carrefour, Barclays has suggested, benefiting from the latter's more advanced digital strategy, more diversified portfolio, and better price positioning. At the start of January, reports suggested that Auchan is looking to garner financial investors to launch a bid for Carrefour at €23.50 per share, a few months on from previous failed merger talks. This would likely be a 100% cash offer, according to a report in Les Echos.
Source: esmmagazine.com
SPAR Netherlands HR policy gets Top Employers certification
SPAR Netherlands has been awarded the ‘Top Employers’ certification by the international Top Employers Institute. This international recognition is awarded annually to qualifying organisations which achieve excellence in people practices. SPAR Netherlands’ success in this arena highlights the consistent application of quality HR policy over a number of years.
Source: spar-international.com
German retailers report fewer supply bottlenecks in January - Ifo
The delivery bottlenecks that have been plaguing German retailers eased significantly in January, an Ifo institute survey showed, with 57.1% of shops saying they had failed to deliver all goods ordered, down from 81.6% in December.
Source: reuters.com
France: Brut. and Carrefour announce the creation of Brut Shop - a joint company dedicated to social commerce (live shopping)
Brut. and Carrefour announce the creation of Brut Shop - a joint company whose aim is to become the leader on the French social commerce market (live shopping). Brut Shop is a unique and responsible website via which users will be able to make online purchases, while taking part in video events live-streamed on social networks.
Source: carrefour.com
UK: Shoppers warned of £180 rise in annual food bills
Annual food bills are set to rise by £180 on average as the cost of living squeeze continues to hit household budgets, according to consultants Kantar. Annual grocery inflation was 3.8% over the past four weeks, up from 3.5% in December, Kantar found.
Source: bbc.com
UK: Tesco says 1,600 jobs at risk from store changes
Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, said 1,600 roles were at risk of redundancy due to operational changes at stores, including the removal of night shifts to restock shelves. The group said it was moving its overnight stock replenishment into the daytime in 36 large stores and 49 convenience stores. In 36 stores, it will also convert its petrol stations to be pay-at-pump only during overnight hours.
Source: reuters.com
Pick n Pay Supermarket warns rising prices will hit South Africans
Pick n Pay Stores Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Pieter Boone has had a stormy 10 months in charge of South Africa’s 3rd-largest supermarket chain by sales - and he says the task is unlikely to get easier. The fading of the latest omicron-driven Covid-19 wave and increasingly loose pandemic restrictions have encouraged consumers to spend and travel with greater ease, but the impact of rising fuel, manufacturing and logistics costs is looming, Boone said.
Source: bloomberg.com
Amazon to create 1,500 apprenticeships in UK in 2022
Amazon will create 1,500 new apprenticeships in the United Kingdom in 2022. The internet giant said it was offering 40 entry to degree-level apprenticeship schemes, including new schemes in the areas of publishing, retailing, marketing, and a programme focused on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG).
Source: reuters.com
